Poor GPA- How can I Pass Resume Screens

very.chipper:

I would take @Sil's advice over mine, but it just seems weird to put "GPA after freshman year" on a resume. What I suggest to people who have gotten their shit together later on is to include their major gpa. In my experiences most people take more major-heavy course loads in the middle years of college, so this should be higher if you only struggled early on.

I would agree with the "major GPA" part, especially since freshman year is usually just electives/general educational requirements.

I am no expert, but I think it really just depends on each individual situation, if you are a rockstar at everything else on your resume it may be ok to put that on there, however if not, you might want to leave it off. Correct me if i'm wrong. It will take networking with that GPA anyways (not that that's abnormal). EDIT: I just read that 3.0 is absolute cut off. So you should be fine. A 3.2 isn't god awful.

Having a 3.2 just means you have to hustle harder and have other things to make you stand out, i.e. extra curriculars, modelings skills, etc. Don't count too much on OCR since anything below a 3.5 they generally toss out.

I had slightly less than a 3.0 but I had a major/minor from a target with 3 internships and a ton of extracurriculars (teasurer of my fraternity, on the football team, etc) and I never put my GPA on my resume and no one asked me until I brought a transcript to the first day of training. If you have enough other things on your resume those will stick out more because that's what people want to talk about in an interview, not your GPA.

3.0 should generally be the cutoff. I have a 3.4, and have been asked by a handful of interviewers why my GPA was so low. You should have an answer for this. Also, if your major GPA or some other GPA is higher, I would list that, in addition to your cumulative. But if you don't list a GPA, most people would assume it's less than a 3.0. I would leave it on there. If you network, GPA cutoffs won't matter.

Troll.

You should leave your non-target school off of your resume and keep your GPA.

Education is worthless anyways. Just talk about your travel experiences and your best hook up story on your resume and you'll be all set.

Hahahaha maybe throw in the first time you got high.

.

If you leave it off, people will assume that it's bad. Round it up to a 3.1. Not the end of the world.

what about a 3.3?

put 3.50 and if you're questioned tell em you're dyslexic.

WalMartShopper:

put 3.50 and if you're questioned tell em you're dyslexic.

^I think this is the best plan.

But seriously, do what Dying's for Fools said. A 3.1 is not going to kill you, especially with some networking.

What about major GPA?

don't even put your 1st school on your resume...you will start your GPA from scratch at your new school so when you apply to your summer program just put your anticipated GPA. but if you found it necessary for some reason to include your first school then you will want your resume to list your current school 1st..then put old xxx school... completed coursework towards xxx...

You could put a 3.1 on your resume then when you get an offer, before you sign, explain to them the situation and how you 'made an executive decision based on the information presented at hand to omit that semester's GPA.' Something along those lines. If you are not going to stretch the truth you should not even be considering banking.

I would like to add, at my school at 3.3 you get a distinction. Does that means a magna sum claude in US terms?

Can anyone shed some light on this?

If you get a distinction then mention it, as it appears on your transcript or in your school's recognition of it.

but what about adding the school avg on it

would that mitigate that my GPA appears lower than other candidates?

Generally, the HR people and whoever is reviewing your resume will know the quality of your school and what average GPAs are. We get this typ eof info for schools we are recruiting for. It's kind of like when you applied to college, and your high school was either really hard (and admissions officers knew that) or you were in a really crappy high school where you exceled easily. I would mention the citation but don't know if i'd go so far to put the average of the school. It would appear to readers that you are making an excuse.

a 2.0 will probably kill your chances unless you can PROVE that the average is 2.0-2.3.  Even so, people in the US will stereotype that so negatively that you probably won't get in.

Best chance is to network and explain.  Sorry if that was harsh but its the truth

I would just put a percentile or class rank on there. Even if your resume states "GPA: 2.5", it won't look as bad if next to that it states "top 5% of class" or "ranked 20/500"

3.62 isn't even that bad. I'd assume lower if not reported.

the link you posted is absurd. how can he recommend people not to list their GPA if it's a 3.7 from HYP? Also, Northwestern as a top 10 school??

Ignore the site. Your resume looks great.

resume is good- 3.8+ at an ivy and a 3.6 at what is notoriously a difficult school is real solid. keep applying, your resume isn't whats holding you back

I would censor more of your resume if I were you...

Maybe think about taking "ballroom dancing" off...

Completely honest question...why did you go from EE to IE?

Not a move I would have ever even thought about considering curriculum and starting salary.

Look at it like this - you are going to tell them either way.

If you don't list it, you run the risk of having your resume thrown out. If it doesn't and you get an interview, you will certainly be asked about it.

So why delay showing your cards?

Show your cack, simple as that. (list your gpa)

-Cackmenimble

I would suggest showing your GPA, boutiques place less emphasis on it than BBs.

Jesus, what is with all these people putting themselves down and saying stuff like: "I know I have no shot..."? Self-deprecation is not an attractive quality.

You know you are allowed to have more than one resume right? If you want to list GPA for BB's but not for Boutiques, then have 2 different resumes reflecting that.

Do you have a different GPA for just your major? Maybe a GPA for just finance courses? Show both side by side, if one is much higher.

Show your GPA. The general rule is that you leave your GPA off if it is below a 3.0. Recruiters know this and make the assumption that you are below the mark right away. The result? Your resume goes straight to the recycling bin (haha jk, banks don't recycle)!

For people here who actually review resumes. At what GPA do you usually just trash? Do you keep the 3.0 - 3.4 range and actually follow up?

I work at a BB and just did a quick flip of our first years resume book.

There were a few people with 3.5's and I even found a 3.2. Who knows what there GPA's were when they applied, but I think it is a fair assumption to say that 3.5, while low, is probably within the range given how tough undergrad recruiting is for the banks right now.

I toss a resume without a GPA for an analyst position. You are coming out of undergrad, that has been your main gig for the past four years. While I would still look at a resume with, say, a 3.1, if you can't own up to your own performance, you probably shouldn’t work in investment banking.

altfp - from what I perceive, the median GPA is around a 3.7 but the average is lower (ie there are a few kids with below 3.5, not many with 4.0, lots in 3.6-3.7 range)

My "perception" is based on about 15 kids who are working at BBs from my school who I became better friends with while preparing for super-days lol. You can probably add validity to that since you have a resume book.

What year are you now? Heading into your Sophomore year I hope...

I would just put "Major GPA: 3.3" and nothing else. If you are heading into your second year this Fall, make sure you stop fucking around and bring that GPA up.

Take a gap year. Take non-degree classes at get 4.0 in everything. Transfer them back to your current school. That should help

I had this same problem lol...partying got the best of me first semester of freshman year and I ended up with a 1.65. After that though I got higher gpa's i.e. 3.8 3.8 so on so forth so I just put after my rounded GPA my two previous GPA's and I had no problem at all landing an internship with networking. Honestly the recruiters and I had a great laugh at that, and it was a great conversation to talk about because it let me stress how much banking actually means to me.

Don't regret having some fun OP...I sure don't. Half the kids on this forum all think it is about getting 4.0's and studying. Of course working hard is a key to being successful, but networking, being confident, and being personable is more important in my opinion.

put the higher gpa and get goods grades starting yesterday.

Thanks Hoogerman, I have been doing lots of networking and definitely have some people to send my resume to. Most of the places to which I will be applying will be recruiting in January/February so by then my GPA should be more in 3.6 major/3.1 overall area, but there is one place that I'm applying to this upcoming semester.

Do you really think it's a good idea to just put my GPA excluding that semester? Should there be some sort of note accompanying it? Would that be better than rounding up to 3.0?

You don't round a 2.8 to a 3.0, fucknut.

A lot of people fuck up freshman year, but I wouldn't recommend rounding that much, especially with your interviewers potentially having access to your transcript. I would just do Major GPA only and then have some kind of story lined up for under-performing during your first year.